Oberfeldarzt (short: OFArzt or OFA) is a military rank in German speaking armed forces. It denotes a medical staff officer surgeon or medical staff officer dentist and is comparable in rank to lieutenant colonel (de: Oberstleutnant) or (naval) commander (de: Fregattenkapitän) NATO-Rangcode OF4 in anglophone armed forces.
| Oberfeldarzt | |||
| Rank insignia | German medical service ranks | ||
| Introduction | |||
| Rank group | Commissioned officers | ||
| Army / Air Force | Oberfeldarzt (equiv. Oberstleutnant) | ||
| Navy | Flottillenarzt (equiv. Fregattenkapitän) | ||
| Short | OFArzt (OFA) | ||
| OF-4 | |||
In the Joint Medical Service of the German BundeswehrOberfeldarzt, Oberfeldapotheker, and Oberfeldveterinär are comparable in NATO to the OF-4 rank Oberstleutnant; Flottillenarzt, and Flottillenapotheker are equivalent in to the rank Fregattenkapitän, OF-4 as well.
The manner of formal addressing of military surgeons/dentists with the rank Oberfeldarzt is "Herr/Frau Oberfeldarzt"; with the rank Oberfeldapotheker, "Herr/Frau Oberfeldapotheker". A Flottillenenarzt will be addressed "Herr/Frau Flottillenarzt"; and the Flottillenapotheker, "Herr/Frau Flottillenapotheker".
On the shoulder straps (Heer, Luftwaffe) there are two silver stars in silver oak leaves and the career insignia (de: Laufbahnabzeichen) as symbol of the medical standing, or course of studies. The piping on shoulder straps shows the Waffenfarbe (en: corps- or troop-function colour), corresponding to the appropriate military service, branch, or special force. The corps colour of the "Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service" is dark blue.
In the Navy, the career insignia is in the middle of both sleeves, 3 cm above the cuff strips, and on the shoulder straps between strips and button.
Oberfeldarzt of the German Wehrmacht was comparable to the Oberstleutnant / Fregattenkapitän (OF-4), as well as to the Obersturmbannführer and Oberstleutnant of the Waffen-SS.
In line to the so-called Reichsbesoldungsordnung (en: Reich's salary order), appendixes to the Salary law of the German Empire (de: Besoldungsgesetz des Deutschen Reiches) of 1927[1] (changes 1937 – 1940), the comparative ranks were as follows: C 5
During wartime, regular assignments of Oberfeldarzt was chief of a, field-, evacuation-, or war hospital (de. Feldlazarett / Krieslazarett). However, a field hospital could be managed by an Oberstabsarzt (OF3) as well.
The corps colour of the military Health Service Support (HSS) in German armed forces was traditional dark blue, and of the veterinarian service .[2] This tradition was continued by the medical service corps in Heer and Luftwaffe of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. However, the corps colour of the Waffen-SS and Kriegsmarine HSS was .
| Ranks Wehrmacht until 1945[3] | Ranks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical service | en translation | Equivalent Heer | en equivalent | |
| Senior Staff-Surgeon General | General der Waffengattung | three star rank | OF-8 | |
| Staff-Surgeon General | two star rank | OF-7 | ||
| Surgeon General | one star rank | OF-6 | ||
| Colonel (Dr.) | Colonel | OF-5 | ||
| Oberfeldarzt | Lieutenant colonel (Dr.) | Lieutenant colonel | OF-4 | |
| Major (Dr.) | OF-3 | |||
| Captain (Dr.) | Captain (army) | OF-2 | ||
| First lieutenant (Dr.) | First lieutenant | OF-1a | ||
| Second lieutenant (Dr.) | Second lieutenant | OF-1b | ||
| Sergeant 1st Class (Dr.) | Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel | Officer Aspirant | OR-7[4] | |
| Feldunterarzt (since 1940) | ||||
| Ranks Kriegsmarine (medical service) | Ranks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical service | en translation | Equivalent Kriegsmarine | en equivalent | ||
| Surgeon general | three star rank | OF-8 | |||
| Rear admiral upper half (Dr.) | two star rank | OF-7 | |||
| Rear admiral lower half (Dr.) | one star rank | OF-6 | |||
| Captain naval (Dr.) | Captain (naval) | OF-5 | |||
| Geschwaderarzt | Commander (Dr.) | Commander | OF-4 | ||
| Lieutenant commander (Dr.) | Lieutenant commander | OF-3 | |||
| Lieutenant naval (Dr.) | Lieutenant (naval) | OF-2 | |||
| Lieutenant junior grade (Dr.) | Lieutenant (junior grade) | OF-1a | |||
| Ensign (Dr.) | Ensign | OF-1b | |||
In the Austria-Hungarian Common Army (de: Gemeinsame Armee or k.u.k. Armee) there was the rank Oberstabsarzt 2. Klasse (en: Senior staff surgeon 2nd class) until 1918 equivalent to Oberfeldarzt in Germany. That particular rank was comparable to the Oberstleutnant OF4-rank (en: colonel) as well.
| Ranks k.u.k. Army until 1918 | Ranks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical service | en | Equivalent Heer | en | |
| Staff-Surgeon General | Major general | OF-6 | ||
| Colonel (Dr. 1st class) | Colonel | OF-5 | ||
| Oberstabsarzt II. Klasse | Lieutenant colonel (Dr. 2nd class) | Lieutenant colonel | OF-4 | |
| Major (Dr.) | OF-3 | |||
| Captain (Dr. 1st class) | Captain | OF-2 | ||
| Captain (Dr. 2nd class) | ||||
| First lieutenant (Dr.) | First lieutenant | OF-1 | ||
| Second lieutenant (Dr.) | Second lieutenant | |||
In the Swiss Armed Forces the Oberfeldarzt of the Army is the most senior representative of the medical service of the Heer. However, the Swiss Oberfeldarzt of the Army might be promoted up to Divisionär (en: Divisional general). This equates to the NATO code of OF-7, or a "two-star rank".